1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to printer ribbon cartridges.
2. Related Art
Printers are used in a variety of applications and many of them require special ribbons and inks. The problem is that every time a new ribbon cartridge is created other things need to change in the printer which makes the older printers no longer compatible with the newer ribbon cartridges. In the past, attempts have been made to save parameters in the ribbon cartridge to inform the printer how to behave but this approach is limited because many times complete algorithms need to change and sometimes even the physical sensors need to change. These changes are not able to be accomplished by simply sending parameters from the ribbon cartridge back to the printer.
The problem that needs to be overcome is how to be able to introduce new ribbon cartridges that are compatible with the earlier printers. Since many of the special ribbon requirements come from new customer needs, it is desirable to respond to those needs without coming out with a completely new printer that would require agency approvals. As more and more countries come out with their own agency requirements, they deter smaller volume specialty equipment from being sold in those regions because the cost of going through the agency tests may be higher than the profit to be made by selling the equipment.